


Camp Westeros

by jenoftarth



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-04-25 08:03:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14374461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenoftarth/pseuds/jenoftarth
Summary: Brienne of Tarth follows her best friend and secret crush Renly Baratheon to a summer job as a counselor at Camp Westeros. But is it a good idea? Brienne finds camp more difficult than she expected when her best friend seems like a different person, and she's forced to work with Jaime Lannister, the camp's most notorious counselor.





	1. Welcome to Camp Westeros

Brienne got off the bus at God’s Eye National Park and traveled the remaining three miles to Camp Westeros on foot. It was a beautiful day in early June, and birds were singing from every branch in a small forest next to the God’s Eye, Westeros’ largest lake. Camp Westeros had the distinction of being the only camp located on the lake, and it attracted young people from all of the country’s most notable families, as well as many more modest campers on full or partial scholarships. Brienne had never been a camper, but she was both very excited and quite nervous to start her job as an assistant sports counselor.  
.  
There was a lot to be excited and nervous about. It was her first real job. This would be her first time being paid, having a boss, and working with people her own age. The last part was the most nerve-wracking. Even on Tarth, where her father was the richest man, people her own age could be cruel. She’d spent a lifetime being snickered at for her tall, muscular frame, her lack of traditionally feminine features or clothing, and her preference for sports and outdoor activities over shopping, clothes, makeup and gossip. Her only friend her own age was Renly Baratheon.  
.  
Brienne and Renly’s fathers had been friends and colleagues, so Brienne and Renly had met at many company picnics and retreats. On one of the retreats the children had been taken to a skating rink. When it came time for the couple skate, a group of boys made a big show of skating quickly away from Brienne, pretending they were afraid she would ask them to skate. Renly had rolled right past them, grabbed Brienne’s hand and led her out onto the rink. From that day on, Renly had been her best friend and secret crush.  
.  
A few years later, when Renly’s father and mother died in a boating accident, Renly had begun spending summers and vacations on Tarth rather than staying with his dour, religious older brother Stannis. Though Renly and Brienne spent many hours together riding horses, diving into sea caves, playing sports and engaging in Renly’s favorite past time, acting, it had never seemed like the right time for Brienne to reveal her true feelings for him. But after last summer, when Renly had taken the job at Camp Westeros and left her alone on Tarth, Brienne realized she needed to take that chance and confess her love. This summer would be her chance to get some experience in the working world and, she hoped, in romance.  
.  
It was only too bad that she wouldn’t be working directly with Renly at camp. He was the theater counselor and she would be one of three assistant sports counselors working under Jaime Lannister. If it hadn’t been for Renly, she wouldn’t have recognized his name, but apparently he came from one of the richest families in Westeros, and his sister, Cersei, had recently become a film star in King’s Landing. According to Renly, Jaime was handsome and charming but also arrogant and hot-tempered. Last summer he had actually beaten up the previous head sports counselor, Aerys Targaryen, who had been so badly hurt he had left the camp entirely. But because Jamie’s father’s company owned the camp, camp directors Ned and Catelyn Stark hadn’t been allowed to fire him, and, in fact, were forced to promote him to head sports counselor. Renly wondered if Jaime would actually have the nerve to show his face this year. Either way Renly thought Brienne could handle him. Brienne agreed. All her life men had been underestimating her, and all her life she’d been leaving them in the dust.  
.  
Before it seemed possible Brienne arrived at the turnoff for camp and was walking through the camp gateway. The other counselors seemed to have mostly already arrived. All over the place shirtless guys and bikini clad girls were giggling in small groups. Brienne felt out of place in her practical moisture-wicking t-shirt, cargo pants and hiking boots. She wondered if she would ever feel comfortable enough to wear her one-piece in front of all these people, let alone a bikini. Before she could worry too much over the matter she noticed a table marked “Registration” in the middle of the courtyard, staffed by two smiling redheaded women, one older and one much younger.  
.  
“Hello,” said the older of the two women as Brienne approached, “Welcome to Camp Westeros, I’m Catelyn Stark, the camp’s co-director. You must be Brienne Tarth. We’ve been expecting you.”  
.  
“Thank you, Director Stark. But how did you know that I was Brienne Tarth?”  
.  
“You’re one of only 3 new counselors this year,” the younger girl said, “and the other new female counselor already arrived! I’m Sansa Stark, her daughter,” she added, and held out a hand.  
.  
“Pleased to meet you,” Brienne said, “Both of you.”  
.  
“Do you have your camp manual?” asked Director Stark. “If not, we have extras, and here’s the orientation itinerary, and, of course, directions to your bunk and a list of your campers. You will be in charge of the Silver Trouts, and Sansa will be in your cabin.”  
.  
“Great,” said Brienne. “I’m sure you can help me to learn all about the camp traditions.” Sansa Stark seemed like a very polite and friendly girl, and had not seemed at all fazed by Brienne’s height or appearance. Now she would just have to hope the five other girls in her cabin were just as nice.  
.  
“Brienne, I do want to have one more serious word with you. I wouldn’t usually share such information, but you’ll hear rumors before long about the head sports counselor you’ll be working under, Jaime Lannister.”  
.  
Brienne nodded solemnly and noticed that Sansa had paled. She looked down and studied her hands as her mother spoke.  
.  
“Last year Jaime Lannister got into a fight with the old head sports counselor. We could never get to the bottom of what caused the fight. I don’t want you to worry, because despite the seriousness of attacking another counselor he has never been violent before. However, I also want you to keep an eye on him, and if you have any trouble with him, any trouble at all, please report it directly to me. If it were up to me he wouldn’t be here, but it’s not. Let’s keep that between the two of us, though, okay?”  
.  
“Yes, Director Stark, I’m sure everything will be okay.”  
.  
“Good. I’m glad we have a strong and confident woman like yourself to work with him. But as I said, you may report any problems directly to me, and be sure to get to know the other two assistant sports counselors, Asha Greyjoy and Loras Tyrell.”  
.  
When her mother had finished speaking Sansa looked up at Brienne again with a wan smile. Could Jaime Lannister really be so much trouble? Whatever the case, Brienne was glad that Lady Stark and her daughter seemed like good people. She thanked them for their welcome and walked off to find her cabin and unpack before the first day’s orientation meeting.


	2. The Passenger Seat

Jaime arrived at camp right on time - 10 minutes into the opening remarks of counselor orientation. His red sports car squealed into the spot marked _Tywin Lannister_ , which, to be fair, his father only used once a year for the last-day-of-camp ceremony.  
  
For the first time Jaime was arriving at camp alone, without his golden twin sister in the passenger seat, laughing, her hair flying behind her in the breeze. Or, perhaps more accurately, without his frowning twin sister beside him, gossiping about some other girl’s weight gain, asking to stop every 30 minutes to fix her hair. Cersei had always been insecure, had always needed to know she was the most beautiful girl around. Her need to be superior to other women was just one contributing factor to the trouble last summer that had finally broken up their lifelong relationship.  
  
Of course Jaime and Cersei had never officially been “going out” in the first place. It had always been _incest_ , a word that lingered in Jaime’s mind like a brand, causing him no end of guilt and shame. By the time he had realized they were doing something wrong, though, it had already been too late. After their mother had died, Jaime and Cersei had spent every night in each other’s beds. At 11 it had been sweet, at 12 exploratory, and by 13 they lost their virginity to each other, only to be caught together by Tyrion a few months later. Tyrion had been the one to tell Jaime that what they were doing was generally considered wrong. But, because Tyrion loved his brother, he’d agreed to keep it secret, despite his disapproval. Tyrion had been happy about their split, but sad for Jaime.  
  
This time last year Jaime had imagined spending his life with Cersei. They would continue hiding their relationship, sure, but as adults it would be easier to be together. Siblings lived together all the time, right? She was all he had ever wanted. That dream was over, though. Jaime and Cersei had barely spoken since that day at camp. Now she was filming a movie in King’s Landing, Tyrion was doing the Lannister Corp summer internship originally designed for Jaime, and Jaime was back for one more summer at Camp Westeros, however little he might be welcomed. Jaime knew, though, what he’d done for the camp, even if no one else did.  
  
Tywin had been opposed to Jaime returning to camp until Jaime reminded him that the Starks would take it as a win if he quit. _By what right does the wolf judge the lion?_ Lannister pride demanded that Jaime not only work at the camp but receive a promotion. Jaime had promised his father that next year he’d do the corporate internship and then take only the college courses necessary to take over the family business. What Tywin didn’t realize, however, was that Jaime had absolutely no intention of ever joining the family business; he was just stalling for time.  
  
Jaime was pretty sure he wanted to work outdoors as a park ranger or maybe even continue working as a camp counselor or director. He was also somewhat interested in law enforcement. None of his ideas involved wearing a business suit or handling corporate mergers. Let Tyrion manage Lannister Corp and inherit Casterly Rock. Jaime had been accepted to the Citadel in Oldtown next year, and he was going to study what he wanted until he found his true calling. In the meantime he was going to spend one last summer at Camp Westeros, whether Ned and Catelyn Stark wanted him there or not.  
  
He stole one more glance at the empty seat where Cersei should have been and shook his head in disgust. It was bad enough that the world thought Aerys Targaryen was his innocent victim. Jaime had made a vow to never reveal what Aerys had done, and he accepted the reputation he’d have to carry because of it. All he had asked of Cersei was her silence. Instead she’d gossiped about her violent, out of control brother. Instead he’d been left to face down a camp united against him.  
  
Well, the best way to deal with opposition was utter shamelessness and careless charm. Jaime gathered his stores of both and ran up the steps to the main hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For now I'm going to try to stick to one POV per chapter. This may mean that some of the chapters are on the short side. Later on I might mix it up, but for now, I hope you enjoy the taste of Camp Westeros Jaime, a man of mystery for the time being.


	3. Orientation

Ned Stark was in the middle of enumerating the qualities of a good Camp Westeros counselor when the door to the main hall opened with a crash, revealing a tall, fit young man with dirty blonde hair to his shoulders, bathed in sunlight.  
  
“Jaime Lannister,” whispered Renly, nudging Brienne. “He definitely knows how to make an entrance.”  
  
Brienne, and everyone else, watched as Jaime strode down the aisle, his features becoming clearer. _He had no shame! He was actually smiling!_ Brienne looked back up to the podium, where Ned Stark’s face seemed frozen into a grim statue. Brienne couldn’t believe that any 18-year-old in the world could look so carefree under a glare like that. _Well, I guess he comes from the richest family in Westeros,_ she thought. _He’ll never have to worry in his life. Plus he’s so handsome he’ll never have to worry about finding love, either._ Brienne huffed at the injustice of it all and turned towards Renly, but he was already whispering with his camp friend, Loras Tyrell.  
  
It was funny, Renly and Loras seemed to be incredibly close, but Renly had never even mentioned him to her, even though Loras was one of the other assistant sports counselors, in charge of the horseback riding. Instead of catching Renly’s eye, Brienne wound up looking straight at Loras’ pretty sister, Margaery. Margaery greeted Brienne with an amused eye roll. Brienne couldn’t tell, however, whether the target of the eye roll was Jaime or Loras and Renly, so she just smiled politely and looked away. Part of her wondered if Margaery might be the reason that Renly hadn’t said much about Loras. Maybe he was interested in Margaery and didn’t feel like sharing that with Brienne. Maybe it was already too late to win Renly’s heart.  
  
“Sorry I’m late,” Jaime Lannister called up to the podium. “Please carry on with the orientation.” With that, Jaime made an absurdly elaborate bow towards the podium and slipped into the only open seat, which just happened to be across the aisle from Brienne. She glared at him, not caring, for the moment, that she would soon be working with him. In response he had the nerve to smile and wink at her. Brienne quickly turned back towards the podium and fixed her eyes on Ned Stark, as if to demonstrate proper respect. Ned Stark had resumed his speech, and was now delivering it entirely to Jaime.  
  
“As I was saying, honor and respect are two of the most important qualities we want our counselors to embody at Camp Westeros. We demonstrate honor by fulfilling our duties as counselors, protecting our campers, working diligently, and putting the campers first. We show respect by listening to our supervisors, treating our fellow counselors and campers as friends, and showing up to all camp events _on time_. Those are just some of the things we expect of counselors at Camp Westeros. I know that we have an almost entirely excellent group of counselors this year, and I certainly hope that all the counselors here are committed to making this a safe, happy and _peaceful_ summer for our campers and staff.”  
  
Ned Stark stepped away from the podium, and after some polite applause, the whole group of counselors erupted into whispers, with a lot of pointed looks aimed at Jaime. Brienne couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t entirely friendless, however. Two very attractive girls were already leaning over their seats to talk to him. Renly noticed Brienne looking at Jaime and said, “He’s going to be quite popular with the girls this year, now that his sister Cersei is gone. He spent all his free time with her.”  
  
“I heard they were together, as in _together_ together,” Loras said, somewhat too loudly.  
  
“Loras, that’s terrible. That can’t be true,” said Margaery, laughing.  
  
Brienne felt uncomfortable listening to gossip, having too often been the target of it. She could swear that Jaime Lannister had heard what Loras had said and was still listening, despite the girls chattering away in front of him. She wondered which one of the two - the strawberry blond with all the cleavage, or the tiny dark-haired girl with the knowing smile - Jaime would like better. Then she wondered why she cared.  
  
The general whispering died down as Robb Stark, the eldest Stark child and head counselor, took the podium and read off last-minute changes to cabin assignments and rosters. Then the meeting was over and the counselors were free to settle in to their cabins and prepare for the opening night mixer. Brienne had no real desire to attend a mixer, but Renly, Loras and Margaery were all going, and Brienne knew that if she was going to have any chance of dating Renly, she’d have to make an effort to meet new people, attend mixers, and, gods, maybe even dance. So after spending a few more minutes listening to Renly and Loras talk about last year’s camp dances, Brienne went back to her cabin to change into whatever she could find that didn’t seem hopeless.


	4. A Gift From Tyrion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a feeling this is going to be a looooong fic. I'm aiming to post another 2 chapters within the next few days. I promise in one of those chapters Jaime and Brienne will actually speak to one another and it will be worth it! :)

_Well, that went well_ , Jaime thought, collapsing on his bunk in the Golden Lions cabin. _I could be anywhere in Westeros right now, or even in the free cities on a world tour, and instead I’m here at Camp Westeros, alone, friendless, and somehow very horny. Great plan, Lannister._ Of course he could probably solve the last problem very quickly. Ros Winterton and Amerei Frey had both seemed very happy to see him back at the main camp, and they were nice to look at. But nice to look at had never been Jaime’s main criteria in a relationship.  
  
Who was he kidding, though? He didn’t have any criteria. All he’d had was his fucked-up twincest with Cersei. But he could start having criteria now, and he knew that pretty and giggly weren’t enough. When he was ready to love someone again she’d have to be kind and honest and strong, things Cersei was not. That seemed like a good enough place to start.  
  
Of course it was a little premature to start thinking about finding love. First he’d have to survive the summer. Ned, Catelyn and Robb Stark had looked at him liked they wanted to murder him at the orientation meeting. Despite his initial bravado, Jaime didn’t really feel like having a one-on-one with Ned Stark, so he’d tried to get out of the Great Hall as soon as he could after the meeting broke up.  
  
Unfortunately, he’d been cornered by Asha Greyjoy, who’d wanted to know which of them would be handling the swimming classes. He’d made Asha happy by telling her he’d take the swimmers, leaving her free to concentrate on her precious fleet of canoes, rowboats, kayaks and sailboats. But then Amerei Frey and Ros Winterton had appeared behind Asha to waylay him.  
  
By the time Jaime could shake Amerei off his upper arm, Ned Stark was 10 feet away and there was no avoiding him. Ros saw him approaching, and pulled Amerei away with an apologetic glance at Jaime. “See you at the mixer,” she called over her shoulder.  
  
“A word, Lannister” Ned Stark said.  
  
“Yes, Director Stark,” Jaime said. He’d learned from his brother Tyrion that sometimes excessive politeness could be just as effective as outright arrogance in gaining the upper hand.  
  
“So you’ve remembered who’s in charge of this camp, have you?” Eddard Stark said.  
  
_My father_ , Jaime thought, but bit his tongue. He said nothing.  
  
“Catelyn and I were relieved when you didn’t show up for our meeting this afternoon. We would have been happy to name Asha Greyjoy head sports counselor and see the back of you. But you’re here after all,” Stark said. Jaime could see the battle between civility and disgust. The civility stung almost as much. Jaime remembered the beginning of last summer when Ned Stark had actually liked him.  
  
“I expect you to follow the camp rules the same as any other counselor,” Stark said. “If you pull any more stunts like this today, well, Catelyn and I are prepared to leave the camp without a director, co-director or head counselor. Your father can bloody well come out here and run the camp himself if he insists on employing substandard counselors.”  
  
Jaime had to choke on a laugh imagining Tywin Lannister getting his hands dirty in nature. It would almost be worth it to cross Ned Stark to see that, only he knew perfectly well his father would do no such thing. The best case scenario he would send his brother Kevan to oversee things. Kevan had become a religious killjoy ever since his son Lancel had become a devotee of the Seven. The worst case scenario, Tywin would just pay all the campers off, shut the place down and sell it to some private interest. And there would go Jaime’s freedom for the summer. He’d be sucked right back into Lannister Corp. So Jaime swallowed his pride and nodded his agreement. Ned Stark wasn’t done, though.  
  
“When I think of Aerys Targaryen bloodied and battered in that hospital. I shouldn’t have come back here. But you’d be here either way, wouldn’t you?” Ned said.  
  
“I would,” Jaime said.  
  
“I’m here to protect these campers and counselors,” Ned said.  
  
“I am too,” Jaime said, looking Ned Stark directly in the eye.  
  
Ned looked Jaime over, shook his head, and walked out of the hall, trailed by his wife. After they left, Jaime saw that while only a handful of counselors were left in the hall, most of them were looking at him.  
  
“Really told him, didn’t you Lannister?” said Theon Greyjoy. “I always knew that lions were just pussies.”  
  
It would have delighted Jaime to punch the smile off Greyjoy’s scrawny face, but that wouldn’t exactly do wonders for his reputation or his chances of staying at camp.  
  
“Why don’t you go cry some more about your sister being in charge of the boats?” Jaime said instead. Jaime knew Theon was very sensitive about Asha’s superiority to him in just about every arena. Theon got in Jaime’s face now, as if he was going to attack him, and Jaime pushed his hands against Theon’s chest to hold him off.  
  
“Hey! What’s going on?”  
  
_Great_ , Jaime sighed with annoyance. _Just what we need, Robb fucking Stark_.  
  
“Just keeping Theon from breaking his hands on my teeth,” Jaime said.  
  
Robb looked back and forth between them, but predictably sided with his friend. Theon and Robb had been best friends since all of them had been first-year campers.  
  
“Get the fuck out of here, Lannister,” Robb said. “Come on, Theon,” he said, pulling his friend away.  
  
“I’ll get out of here when I feel like it,” Jaime said, leaning back against the wall. “But, please, take your little friend with you.”  
  
“Fuck you, Lannister,” Robb said. “You wouldn’t be here without Daddy’s money, and everybody knows it.”  
  
“And you wouldn’t be head counselor if your daddy wasn’t director. Seriously, if you looked after the campers half as well as you do Theon, I never would’ve had to-” Jaime stopped himself. He'd been too close to telling the truth.  
  
“Never would have had to what, Lannister?” Robb said, getting in his face.  
  
“That’s right, Robb. Beat me up. Maybe your father will send _you_ home from camp. My dad won’t insist that you stay.”  
  
Theon and Robb looked on the brink of getting in the first punch, when Asha Greyjoy approached, trailed by Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand.  
  
“Alright, boys, let’s break this shit up,” Asha said.  
  
Jaime looked around again. There were only about 10 counselors left in the hall, and none of them were eager to side with him. Asha was the closest thing he had to an ally, and she just looked like she was tired of watching boys fighting.  
  
“Fine,” Jaime said. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Asha.” Jaime began walking out of the hall.  
  
“Won’t be coming to the mixer, then, Lannister? Guess there’s no reason now that you can’t dance with your sister,” Theon yelled at his back.  
  
Jaime froze for a half-step, but kept on walking. If he made a big deal out of it, they’d just suspect him more. 

Once he got back to his cabin and flopped down on the bed, Jaime had initially resolved to put in an appearance at the mixer, for pride’s sake. If Cersei were here that’s where he’d be, after all, making mindless small talk, dancing in small groups with her and her friends, listening to terrible music. It was all really pretty boring, but at the end of the night they would have snuck off to the woods, the props closet in the theater, or maybe the boathouse. There’d be no reward at the end of tonight, unless he changed his mind about Amerei or Ros, but what else he was going to do?  
  
Jaime had set about looking through his suitcase for his nice green button down, when he’d found the note and package from Tyrion, hidden at the bottom of his suitcase. “Open in Case of Emergency” the envelope read. Jaime tore open the envelope to read the note inside.  
  
“To my dear brother,” it read. “I imagine life at camp is more difficult than you realized. To help you along in these trying times, I have sent you the Tyrion Lannister cure for pain. It’s not as effective as a good woman, so I hope you find one of those soon. But until you do, take as needed until you forget all your troubles. If you need more, write back to Tyrion Lannister ℅ Lannister Corp, ℅ Taking Over Your Job and Inheritance While You Inexplicably Teach Small Children How to Play Badminton.”  
  
Jaime laughed. Shaking the package confirmed his suspicions about its contents. Alcohol. He opened it anyway. Tyrion knew that his brother rarely drank and never drank alone, but tonight Jaime was ready to make an exception. He missed his brother’s conversation, but since cell reception at Camp Westeros was a bad joke, and the landlines were in the camp office which doubled as the Stark’s cabin, he’d just have to settle for feeling connected to his brother through drunkenness. He took the bottle out onto the cabin’s porch, watched the sun setting over the God’s Eye, and took his first sip. A few drinks wouldn’t kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in case anyone is wondering, I'm not a Stark-hater, at all. But I think this is a pretty realistic assessment of how the main Starks felt in relation to Jaime at the beginning of the series. Just wanted to clear that up, though. I'm not super-fond of early book/show Theon though, so if he's your jam, this may not be your story. Asha Greyjoy, however, seems to be inserting herself into the story with greater frequency than I initially thought. The next few chapters will see more counselors introduced and Jaime and Brienne finally meeting. And campers will arrive at some point, too, I promise. Anyway, thanks for commenting and reading!


	5. The Mixer

_So this is a mixer_ , Brienne thought. The main hall had been transformed. Chairs had been cleared away to create a large dance floor. Tables were laden with punch and snacks. In the corner DJ Marillion (the music counselor’s stage name) was manning his laptop and speakers. About a dozen counselors were dancing, but still more were clustered along the walls in small groups.  
  
Brienne tried to spot Renly, but the closest she could come was Margaery Tyrell, who was talking with an intimidatingly cool-looking dark-haired girl. Everyone was dressed more casually than Brienne was in her white button down and khaki skirt. She felt like an adult intruding on a teenage party, but she squared her shoulders and walked over to join Margaery and her friend.  
  
  
“Brienne! It’s good to see you!” Margaery said. “How are you enjoying camp?”  
  
“Pretty well,” Brienne said politely. “How about you?”  
  
“Oh, it’s lovely as always. Do you know Ellaria?” she asked, indicating the girl next to her.  
  
“No, not yet. Nice to meet you. I’m Brienne Tarth.”  
  
“Ellaria Sand, from Dorne,” she said.  
  
“Brienne is Renly’s absolute best friend,” Margaery continued. “They’ve known each other since they were children.”  
  
“How nice,” Ellaria said. “So you’re here because of him?” Ellaria seemed to be amused by some secret joke.  
  
“Um… well, sure… he said it was really fun here, so yeah,” Brienne said.  
  
Ellaria seemed like the sort of person who was never nervous, and that made Brienne more nervous. For once she was grateful for Margaery’s constant cheerful patter.  
  
“What cabin are you in? I got the Sand Snakes cabin that Ellaria wanted, and she got, what was it again?”  
  
“The red apples,” Ellaria said.  
  
“You’re kidding! The youngest kids?”  
  
“They’re usually easier, at least,” Ellaria said. “The older kids are always trying to have sex with each other. I should know,” Ellaria laughed. Brienne's eyes widened in shock, which she quickly tried to conceal. Now she felt more like a child intruding on the teenager's party.  
  
“Most of us were campers here, you see, Brienne," Margaery said. "So we’ve all known each other far too long. You’ll be a novelty to the boys here.”  
  
“Oh, I doubt that,” Brienne said. “Boys aren’t interested in me.” There was no shame in her voice. She was under no illusions that she would be popular. She just hoped that Renly could see her that way, after all the experiences they’d shared.  
  
“Well, we’ll have to change that,” Margaery said, her tone still stubbornly optimistic. “So which is your cabin, Brienne?”  
  
“Silver trouts,” Brienne said. “It’s right next to the lake. I’m not sure how I got such a nice location my first year here.”  
  
Margaery exchanged a look with Ellaria.  
  
“You’re next to Jaime Lannister,” Margaery said. ”That’s how you got it. He always picks the Golden Lions, so everyone avoided your cabin.”  
  
“What about those girls at the orientation? They seemed to like him,” Brienne said.  
  
Margaery looked blank for a moment. “Oh! You mean Amerei and Ros! Well, they’re desperate. But I guess even they’re not so desperate that they’d let Robb Stark think they were siding with Jaime. Anyway, you got the last pick. But it is nice by the lake.”  
  
“You’ll have to tell us if he does anything shocking. You heard about him and his sister, right?” Ellaria asked.  
  
“Oh, Ellie, you too? It’s just a ridiculous rumor.”  
  
“It’s not ridiculous, Marge. Didn’t you notice him and Cersei disappearing together all the time?”  
  
“So I suppose _Loras and I_ are sleeping together _too_?”  
  
“Well, we all know why that can’t be true.” Ellaria laughed, but suddenly stopped when Margaery gave her a warning look. Brienne was bewildered by all the unspoken secrets between the two girls. It was going to be hard to keep up.  
  
“Okay, fine, brothers and sisters can be close," Ellaria said, "But what about the fact that Jaime has never hooked up with anyone here? Not even _me_?”  
  
“Ellaria, not _everyone_ wants to sleep with you.”  
  
“Debatable.”  
  
“Anyway, Cersei was sleeping with Aerys last year, wasn’t she?” Margaery said.  
  
“Maybe that’s why Jaime beat him up,” Ellaria said darkly.  
  
_What kind of camp have I come to?_ Brienne thought, not for the first time. She didn’t believe that Jaime Lannister could possibly be sleeping with his sister. That sort of thing didn’t happen outside of novels. But the level of gossip here was pretty extreme.  
  
“Anyway, Brienne, please do let us know if anything interesting happens,” Ellaria said.  
  
Brienne was sick of the gossip.“So far it sounds like the most interesting thing he’s done for sure is beat someone up, and I hope he won’t do anything like that again,” Brienne said. She decided to change the subject. "So where are you working during the day, Margaery?"  
  
“Oh, didn't Renly tell you? I'm his assistant theater counselor!”  
  
“You're working with Renly?" Brienne asked.  
  
“Yes! Isn’t it great? Renly and I really hit it off last year. I’ve never done anything with theater, but now he can teach me.”  
  
Brienne felt jealousy coiling inside her, and again she wondered why Renly had never told her about any of these people. Come to think of it, he’d told her very little about camp in general, other than the fact that he loved it.  
  
“I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Brienne said.  
  
“Well, I won’t be as talented as Cersei Lannister,” Margaery said.  
  
“You won’t be as much trouble, either,” Ellaria said. “That fit she threw last year when she couldn’t play Ophelia.” She laughed scornfully.  
  
“Oh, I know,” Margaery said. “The camp’s for the campers, not us. What was she thinking?”  
  
This, at least, did sound familiar. Renly had told her about playing Hamlet because none of the campers were up to the role, and how his assistant counselor was angry when she didn’t get a part as well.  
  
“So have you met Jaime Lannister yet?” Margaery asked. “He’s actually pretty interesting. I’d even consider dating him if it wasn’t for the Aerys thing.”  
  
Brienne looked at Margaery curiously. _So she wasn’t dating Renly?_ That was good to know.  
  
“I haven’t met him,” Brienne said. “But I suppose I’ll meet him tomorrow when we have our sports meeting.”  
  
“Of course,” Margaery said. “Well, if he’s ever a jerk, you’ll have Loras there to protect you. Won’t she, brother?”  
  
Brienne looked around and saw Loras and Renly walking up to join them.  
  
Renly walked up to Brienne and put his arm around her. She blushed.  
  
“Hi,” Brienne said, shyly.  
  
“Hey, Brienne,” Renly said. His dark eyes were sparkling, and Brienne could swear he looked happy to see her. Her stomach did a flip.  
  
“What’s that, Margie?” Loras said, “Who am I supposed to protect?”  
  
“Brienne,” Margaery said. “From Jaime Lannister.”  
  
“I don’t think Brienne needs any protecting,” Loras said, looking Brienne up and down. “If anything, _she_ can protect _me_.” He laughed. Brienne wasn’t sure if he was insulting her or not, but Ellaria was laughing too.  
  
“That’s right,” Renly said affectionately. “Brienne is the strongest woman I know.” He smiled at her, and the others stopped laughing. Brienne felt for the first time a little bit like she always had on Tarth, confident in Renly’s friendship and hopeful they could be more. She decided to act on this rush of courage before it could float away again.  
  
“Renly,” Brienne said, “would you like to dance?”  
  
She could hardly believe she’d asked him, especially in front of all these people. Apparently neither could Margaery, Loras and Ellaria, because her invitation seemed to throw them into an awkward silence. Brienne immediately wondered if she’d done something stupid, but then Renly took her hand.  
  
“Sure, Brienne,” Renly said, and he led her to the dance floor.  
  
A slow song, “Hands of Gold” was playing. Brienne put her arm around Renly’s shoulders, even though she was nearly a head taller. Renly put his hands around her waist and they began to dance.  
  
_This should feel amazing_ , Brienne thought, _so why doesn’t it?_ Renly’s movements seemed stiff, and they couldn’t quite seem to agree on who was leading. Every step felt out of sync. They’d danced before, many times, at family and company events, but somehow it just wasn't working. To make things worse, she couldn’t think of anything to talk about, even though all she’d been aching to talk to her best friend all day. Finally it was Renly who broke the silence.  
  
“So what do you think so far about camp?” Renly asked.  
  
“I’m not sure,” Brienne said. “People are nice, I guess.”  
  
“Yes, there are a lot of good people here. I’m glad you’re talking with Margaery, she’s a really good person, and I hope you get to know Loras too. I think you’ll really like him. Of course you’ll be working with Loras starting tomorrow.”  
  
Brienne nodded. “Yes, I’m sure we’ll get along.” Brienne wondered why he wanted her to get along with Loras. _Was he trying to set them up?_ Brienne hardly thought Loras would be interested.  
  
“What is it?” Renly asked. He could sense Brienne wasn’t quite happy.  
  
“Oh, I guess I’m just homesick for Tarth. I mean, you’re my best friend and I’ve barely talked to you today.” Brienne blushed, worrying she’d said too much. “I mean, just, this is going to take some getting used to, hanging out with all these new people. And all the gossip. I’m not sure I’ll fit in here.”  
  
Renly cupped her chin, and Brienne’s heart fluttered.  
  
“Hey, Brienne. Sure you will. It’s about time more people get to know you and see how fantastic you are. You’re the most loyal and caring friend I’ve ever had. I know you’re going to meet some great people who will really like you. Maybe you’ll even meet a guy.”  
  
Brienne was torn between hope and despair. On the one hand, Renly was touching her face and saying great things about her. On the other hand, he said she might meet a guy. _Could he be hinting at himself? But she’d already met him. So maybe he was just trying to pawn her off on some other guy._ Plus, Brienne couldn’t help noticing that he’d looked back over at Loras and Margaery several times during their dance. And the dancing itself was no less awkward than when they’d started. Where usually Renly and her felt completely in step, now things were off. Just as she was thinking how awkward everything was, she actually stepped on his foot.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Brienne said. Here she was, with her arms around the boy she loved and she mostly just felt sick.  
  
“It’s okay, Brienne. But, hey, let’s dance with the others now.”  
  
The slow song had ended and DJ Marillion introduced a punk version of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair.” Renly gently let go of Brienne as Margaery, Loras, Ellaria, and several other counselors got up to dance with them.  
  
“If you want to hang out tomorrow,” Renly shouted, “maybe we could go for a hike after lunch.”  
  
“I’d like that,” Brienne said. She wanted to say so much more. Instead she joined the circle, found the fast rhythm of the song, and tried to pretend she was having fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I promise Jaime and Brienne are scheduled to meet and interact in the next two chapters, and it will be worth the wait. (At least I think so!) I hope you enjoyed awkward Brienne time even though it can be painful. She won't stay awkward and ignorant of the way things are forever, though!


	6. Nightswimming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm excited about this chapter! See if you can spot the 2 references to funny moments in Gwen and Nikolaj's Season 7 interviews!

Brienne left the mixer feeling confused and a little embarrassed. Renly hadn’t outright rejected her, but he hadn’t exactly encouraged her either. They’d danced together, but it had felt like a failure. Brienne had even felt a strange sense of relief when their dance had ended. At least her stomach had stopped hurting.  
  
After that, Brienne really _had_ tried to mix with people. She had made a few new acquaintances. Asha Greyjoy seemed honest and decent. And when she’d gone to get punch she’d met Sam Tarly and his friends Gilly and Osha, friendly northerners who made her feel very at ease.  
  
She’d even been asked to dance by a very tall counselor named Tormund, but she’d declined politely. She didn’t want Renly to get the wrong idea. She was still going to tell Renly how she felt - soon. The mixer just didn’t seem to be the right place.  
  
As the dance started winding down, Asha and Ellaria had suggested going to the boathouse to smoke pot, and Margaery, Renly, Loras, and Ellaria’s boyfriend, Oberyn, had immediately agreed. They all got up to leave, assuming Brienne was coming, or maybe just not caring whether she did. In any case, Brienne hadn’t followed, and no one had noticed. She watched as Renly disappeared in a crowd of his friends, throwing his arm around Loras companionably.  
  
Brienne walked back to her cabin alone and defeated, kicking up clods of dirt on the path as she went. She wondered if she should have joined the others after all. But, no, it wasn’t her. The whole thing - gossiping, talking casually about sex, doing drugs, drinking. She never knew that Renly liked any of that. On Tarth he had always seemed so pure and uncomplicated, like the sparkling waterfalls, like the stars. Brienne was jolted out of her train of thought when she rounded the corner and was confronted by a view just as spectacular as any on Tarth.  
  
Brienne had already seen the God’s Eye by day, but she was stunned all over again by the view of the giant lake at night, glittering like a black diamond. Soft waves were lapping at the docks, and she thought she heard the splash of a fish. It was a clear starry night, but a mist shrouded the lake after the hot afternoon. There was something about water that always soothed Brienne’s soul. Maybe a night swim would cheer her up.  
  
Brienne soon arrived at her cabin, changed quickly into her black tank suit, and walked out to the dock in bare feet. The air brought goosepimples up on her skin, but Brienne was used to swimming in a cold sea. At the end of the dock, Brienne made a graceful dive into the water and emerged feeling happier than she had all day. Here she was weightless, carefree; she almost felt beautiful. The water wasn’t so cold once you were in. In fact it was one of those magical nights when the air and the water were nearly the same temperature.  
  
Brienne briefly allowed herself to miss Renly all over again. _He would like this_ , she thought. _Although, would he?_ Maybe she didn’t know him as well as she thought.  
  
Shutting down her pity party, she plunged back into the water and began swimming towards a floating raft she’d spotted in the daytime, which she could just make out in the misty distance.  
  
Arriving at the raft, she used her strong arms to propel herself up onto its surface, but as soon as she was up, she let out a loud shriek. Someone was already there!  
  
A half-naked man was lying there, seemingly sound asleep. Brienne quickly let go of the raft and slipped back into the water. In doing so, however, she unbalanced the raft, and the man who had been lying there splashed into the lake.  
  
“Oh Gods,” Brienne said. _My first day at camp and I’m drowning someone_ , she thought. The splash was followed by a spluttering sound. She swam quickly over to the other side to help the unknown man.  
  
“Jaime Lannister,” she said. The adrenaline leaked out of her almost immediately. Despite already gripping the ladder with one hand, Jaime was flailing around confusedly with his other arm, and kicking his legs frantically, as if he believed himself to be drowning. The smell of alcohol wafted towards her on the night breeze, confirming her suspicions. He was very very drunk.  
  
Jaime noticed Brienne and goggled at her confusedly.  
  
“Gods,” he said. “Are you a woman?”  
  
_Real original_ , Brienne thought. _As if I hadn’t heard that one a million times._  
  
“I’m a woman. You’re drunk. Put your other hand on the ladder.”  
  
Jaime took this opportunity to take the one hand that was already _on_ the ladder _off_ of it. He began flailing even more, and this time he began to sink.  
  
“Oh hells,” Brienne said. She swam in closer, avoiding Jaime’s limbs as best she could, and put her own hand on the ladder. She used her other hand to grab Jaime, and pull him above the water. He coughed out some water, then without missing a beat, began stroking her arm like it was a pet cat.  
  
“You _feel_ like a woman,” he said.  
  
“Stop it! Just stay still!” She barked out these orders in a brisk voice, and finally Jaime’s limbs began to still, one at a time.  
  
“Now just keep staying still, okay?” she said.  
  
Jaime looked up at her, with what could only be called a lost puppy dog expression. _**This** was the guy who beat up Aerys Targaryen? **Really**?_  
  
“Alright, so, do you think you can stay still for a little while longer?” she asked.  
  
Jaime nodded obediently.  
  
“Good, because I don’t want to leave you here alone while I get a life preserver. I’m going to pull you back to shore, okay?”  
  
“You _care_ about me,” Jaime said, sounding touched.  
  
“I care about water safety,” Brienne said stiffly.  
  
“Wench?” he asked.  
  
“ _What_ are you calling me? My name is Brienne. Brienne Tarth. Best get used to it.”  
  
“You make a good wench. You look just like Lady Rowena.”  
  
“Who now?”  
  
“From ‘Swords and Thrones.’” Jaime said. “Ser Allyn always calls her ‘wench,” Jaime said.  
  
“That’s.. interesting,” Brienne said. _Gods, who **is** this guy?_ She decided to use his delusions to her advantage. “Now, just pretend that I’m Ser Allyn, and you’re Lady Rowena and I’m going to rescue you, okay?”  
  
“No,” Jaime shook his head vehemently. “Lady Rowena rescues Ser Allyn.”  
  
“Fine,” Brienne sighed. “You’re Ser Allyn and I’m Lady whatshername. Now just stay completely still and I am going to grab hold of your chest and swim back with you. If you want you can kick your legs a little, but absolutely do not move your arms, okay?”  
  
“Okay,” Jaime said. Brienne positioned Jaime on his back against her chest, and he went lax in her arms, staring up at the sky. “Stars are nice... “ Jaime said. He turned to look at her. “Your eyes are nice, too.”  
  
“You must be very very drunk Jaime Lannister,” Brienne said, shaking her head.  
  
Brienne checked to make sure she had him secured. He was tall and muscular but also slender, so it wasn’t hard to get a good grip on him. Though she was focused on safety, it was a strange sensation, feeling his back against her body, touching his bare chest. She’d practiced a rescue swim, of course, but only on a dummy.  
  
“Alright. We’re going back to shore now. Stay still, remember?”  
  
“Mmmmmm," he said sleepily, "Yes, wench.”  
  
Brienne just shook her head and began to paddle determinedly towards shore with her free arm, working her legs furiously. Even with all her training it was hard work. She wasn’t sure if it had been the best decision. After all it was night, and there was no one to rescue her if he started flailing again. _I guess if worse comes to worst, I can just let him drown and swim away_ , Brienne thought. _After all, who wants to die saving Jaime Lannister?_ But she knew she could never really do that. She’d just better hope for the best.  
  
Before she could worry too much, they were approaching the dock and she was grabbing the ladder.  
  
“Okay, now take your hand and grab the ladder,” she said.  
  
Jaime flailed out with his right hand and somehow managed to make contact with a rung. He turned to face Brienne now, just inches away.  
  
“What’s your name again? _Brian? Brian Tarth_?”  
  
“Brienne,” she said tightly.  
  
“Brian,” he said, as if he was dutifully repeating what she’d just said. Miraculously Jaime began climbing the ladder of his own accord, occasionally swaying a bit. As he climbed, Brienne was treated to a close-up view of his butt in a clingy pair of red briefs. She felt a momentary jolt of attraction, but her brain immediately rebelled.  
  
Brienne waited for him to reach the top, then began to climb up herself. “Stay on the dock,” she called out, just to be safe. Who knew what crazy notions he would get in his head? He might try to jump back in.  
  
“As my Lady Brian commands,” Jaime said. He seemed to have a very fluid notion of both her gender and her name.  
  
Brienne got to the top of the ladder, and Jaime looked her up and down. “Look at those legs,” he said.  
  
“Less looking and more walking,” Brienne said, turning him around and prodding him towards the cabins.  
  
“We’re going to your cabin?” Jaime said, in what sounded like an overly hopeful tone.  
  
“ _You’re_ going to _your_ cabin. _I’m_ taking you there just to make sure you go to bed and don’t try swimming again.”  
  
“Yes, let’s go to bed in my cabin.”  
  
“Arrrrrrgh!” Brienne groaned.  
  
“What’s the matter, wench? It’s fun. I’ve only done it with Cersei, but it’s fun... I think. We can try it.” He smiled encouragingly. Brienne froze in shock. “I don’t love Cersei anymore,” he added sadly.  
  
_What in the seven hells had he just said? So it was **true**_? Brienne had to keep her jaw from dropping open and forced herself to keep walking him back to his cabin. She wasn’t sure why, but she knew she was never going to tell anyone about this. It was just too shameful, too much. And really none of her or anyone else’s business.  
  
“You don’t have to talk Jaime, let’s just get you to your cabin so you can sleep, okay? _Sleep_. Nothing else.”  
  
Jaime appeared to accept her words. Brienne coaxed him through his front door, turned on the overhead light, and led him to his bed. Everything was going fine until he collapsed on the bed, and somehow managed to pull her down on top of him.  
  
“Oof!” Brienne said, scrambling for purchase. “What are you doing?”  
  
“I’m so lonely,” Jaime said, hugging her to him. It was awkward at best, her face smashed into his forehead, her chest up near his collarbone, her legs flailing. Both of their bodies were wet from the water, but she felt a wash of warmth through her body. She had never felt so much skin touching hers before. She’d never been embraced this urgently. For just a split second she wanted to stay and feel more of it, but between the incest, Renly, and his obvious state of blind drunkenness, it wasn’t a difficult decision to tear herself away. She put on her stern voice again.  
  
“Jaime. I’m going back to my cabin now. You need to let go of me.”  
  
He let go, as placidly as he’d followed all her other directions.  
  
“Now, you need to lie on your side.”  
  
Instead of just turning over, Jaime reached down and began trying to pull his wet underwear off. Brienne caught a glimpse of his very toned lower abdomen and a v-line leading to his groin before she covered her eyes.  
  
“I don’t need to see that,” she said. “Pull your covers up, please.”  
  
She heard a series of rustling noises, then after a few moments of silence dared to look back at the bed. Jaime was on his side, under the covers. The underwear lay discarded on his pillow. Brienne hunted around the room and found a garbage can. She brought it over to the side of the bed. “Here,” she said. “If you need to throw up, do it in here, okay? And don’t lie on your back!”  
  
Just to make sure, she took a duffel bag that was lying on the floor and propped it up against his back. For once she was grateful that she’d helped Renly take care of his drunken brother, Robert, a few times. Whatever bad life decisions Jaime had made, she didn’t want him choking on his own vomit.  
  
“Alright,” Brienne said, when everything looked in order. “Now stay in here. You’re going to sleep now, okay?”  
  
“Mmmmhmmmmm,” Jaime said, already beginning to drift off. “Goodnight Lady Brian of Tarth. Thank you.”  
  
_Hmmmph_ , Brienne thought. _At least he sort of has manners, even if I am apparently some sort of medieval knight manmaid_.  
  
“Goodnight,” Brienne said, shutting off the light, feeling strangely like a mother to a wayward god.  
  
As she walked out of the cabin and shut the door behind her she wondered just how much of this Jaime Lannister would remember in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I actually did some research on rescue swimming for this chapter. Apologies to lifeguards and water safety types everywhere if I got any details wrong. I now know what to do if a drowning person tries to drag me down, though. (Duck under water and swim away.) Ideally you want to perform a rescue swim with a flotation device of any kind at all, because it takes a very strong swimmer otherwise. My inner Brienne wants you to know that, because she cares about water safety.
> 
> By the way, don't worry about Brienne suffering from delusions too much longer. She will soon enough learn about Renly! And I hope to deal with that situation in a thoughtful and realistic manner! 
> 
> Thanks for all the comments! See you back at Camp probably in a week, because I have to get some chapters out for The Last Feast!


	7. The Bout

Jaime was woken up at the crack of dawn by bird song and immediately threw up. It wasn’t until after he’d emptied the contents of his stomach into it, that he noticed the garbage can which had been carefully placed next to his bed. _Did I do that_? Jaime wondered. Next, he noticed that he was completely naked and found a pair of still-damp red briefs lying on his pillow. _I definitely did that_ , Jaime thought, _but how did it happen_?  
  
Jaime’s head was pounding. He needed water immediately. He hunted around, threw on the first clothes he saw, dug out his water bottle, and stumbled over to the men’s bathroom. On the way he found the bottle of whiskey from Tyrion lying on its side. It was impossible to tell how much he’d drunk last night, since the remaining contents had watered the grass. Just as well, since he didn’t want to be tempted to drink any more of it.  
  
Last night was fuzzy at best. He remembered coming back to the cabin and reading Tyrion’s note. He remembered sitting on the porch and drinking, watching the sun set over the lake. He remembered thinking it would be nice to go for a swim, but he didn’t remember actually entering the water.  
  
He had a strange feeling that he’d spent time with someone else last night, talked to them, but had no idea who it had been. His mind flashed on Lady Rowena from “Swords and Thrones,” but that was clearly some sort of drunken dream.  
  
_No point making my headache worse trying to figure any of this out now_ , Jaime thought. Instead he drank as much water as he could, then forced himself to take a shower. When he got back to his cabin, he took some aspirin, changed into his clothes for the day, and decided to go to the dining hall for breakfast. The idea of food wasn’t exactly appealing, but early morning would be the best time to avoid other people and excessive noise.  
  
The dining hall was nearly empty when he got there. Ned and Robb Stark were eating with the two younger Stark boys in the middle of the hall. The Stark cousin and ward, Jon Snow, was sitting in a corner with his friends Sam and Gilly. Jaime actually didn’t mind Jon. He wasn’t arrogant like Robb or judgmental like his aunt and uncle. Sam and Gilly were nice enough too. They were also “Swords and Thrones” fans, and last year, before the trouble with Aerys, he’d had a few good conversations with them about what they thought would happen in the next book.  
  
He didn’t think it would be a good idea to try to sit with them, though. He didn’t feel like being rejected, and he was pretty sure that’s what would happen, especially with the Starks in the room. Jaime didn’t know any of the other early risers that well. There was Melisandre, sort of an odd New Age type, a bit older than the other counselors; Tormund a tall Northerner; and Marillion, who gods help them all, was playing some discordant notes on a mandolin.  
  
Jaime found a corner table as far as possible from both the Starks’ glares and Marillion’s noise, and choked down some oatmeal and hardboiled eggs along with juice and coffee, served up by Old Nan and her assistant Hodor.  
  
He needed to get his head right before the meeting today, and that included trying to remember what he had done last night, in case it turned out to be important. Throughout breakfast more flashes came to him. A feeling of being carried through water, long legs standing on a dock, bright blue eyes, the name Brian (which didn’t make much sense with the other clues), and holding someone in his bed (which seemed unlikely). That part was almost definitely a dream, because the only girls at camp who’d be interested in holding him would certainly have tried to stay overnight.  
  
Rather than go back to his cabin after breakfast and risk falling asleep, Jaime walked directly to the main sports cabin to prepare for the 9:00 meeting. Everything was just as they’d left it at the end of last summer. Racks of balls and supplies for softball, volleyball, badminton and flag football; foils, chest protectors and masks for fencing; archery targets, arrows and quivers; all were arranged neatly along the back walls. The supplies for horseback riding, swimming and boating were kept in different buildings, but this cabin also served as the main office, and Jaime had his own desk where he’d already placed the rosters, schedules and rules and regulations binders for each sport. In the middle of the room was a big wooden table where his staff would meet.  
  
He’d already assigned each assistant sports counselor their duties. Asha would be in charge of the boats just like last year, but this year he’d take over the swimmers. Loras would be in charge of the horseback riding and archery. The new counselor, Brienne Tarth, would be in charge of all team sports. And Jaime would take over his two favorite sports - fencing and swimming. This was the one part of camp he was looking forward to, his reward for putting up with widespread disdain.  
  
Jaime was a bit nervous about encountering Asha and Loras again. Asha had seemed civil enough after the meeting yesterday, but Loras hadn’t even acknowledged him yet. Both of them had looked appalled last year when they’d seen Aerys carried away in the ambulance, even though neither of them had been very close to Aerys. Asha, in fact, had been known to call him a “pompous twat” behind his back. But that was before she'd seen him bloodied on the ground. 

At 8:45 the door opened and a tall blond girl walked in with a grim look on her face. Jaime stood up from the table to greet her. “You must be Brienne Tar-” he started. But then images from the previous night clicked into place. “Oh shit,” he said.“It’s you.”  
  
Brienne had been very nervous to come to the sports counselor meeting, but her father had taught her that on-time was late, and it wasn’t a habit she could easily break. She’d hoped that maybe Jaime would be late himself, given the condition she'd last seen him in, but apparently they were going to have to be alone for who knew how long.  
  
“I’m Brienne Tarth,” she said, simply, but did not offer a hand to be shaked. Instead she sat down at the wooden table, about as far from Jaime as she could get, and glowered.  
  
“Last night,” he started, “you were the one who got me out of the water?” he asked. But he knew. It was all coming into focus, like fast-forwarding through a movie. He’d fallen off the raft; she’d carried him to shore in her arms; she’d brought him to his cabin, and he was pretty sure he actually _had_ held her, though judging by her forbidding expression, that hadn’t been her idea. He’d _said_ something too, something about sex, something about… _Cersei? Oh gods_.  
  
“Yes. I pulled you out of the water,” she said. “You were _drunk_.”  
  
The tone of her voice was so judgmental, that Jaime immediately felt defensive. _Yeah, you giant blond plank, so was half the camp_ , he thought.  
  
“Well, you needn’t have bothered,” Jaime said. “I’m sure Ned and Catelyn Stark would have given you a reward if you’d left me in the water to drown.”  
  
“You shouldn’t drink,” Brienne said. “You _talk_ too much when you drink.” She wasn’t sure why she was bothering to tell him this. She felt awkward about the whole thing, and she definitely didn’t want him to remember the part where he held her on his bed. A guy like him would probably assume it had been her idea.  
  
_You talk too much_ , Jaime thought. _Oh fuck. He definitely had said something about Cersei_.“You shouldn’t believe everything someone says when they’re drunk,” Jaime said, lightly. He laughed, hoping to convince her it had all been nonsense.  
  
_Hmmph. Maybe he doesn’t remember telling me about his sister. Maybe he only remembers hitting on me_ , Brienne thought. _Of course he’d want to let me know I’m not the least bit attractive to him_.  
  
“Don’t worry,” Brienne said. “I have better things to concern myself with than your drunken ramblings,” she said.  
  
“Like what?” As soon as he’d said it, Jaime realized it sounded sort of like an insult, but he was really just curious about her.  
  
“I have _friends_ ,” Brienne said. _The obvious implication being that he didn’t_ , Jaime thought. _Very well. Another entry in the long list of people who think I'm garbage._ He should have known that the camp gossip would have reached even the new counselors already.  
  
Before Jaime could respond, Asha and Loras entered the cabin talking and laughing.  
  
“Brienne,” Asha called out. “We thought you were joining us last night! Where’d you end up? Did you hook up with Tormund after all? He seemed pretty into you!”  
  
Brienne blushed. “No,” she said. I just went back to my cabin and got some sleep.”  
  
Jaime relaxed. At least for now it seemed like Brienne had no interest in publicizing his drunken swim or anything he’d done or said during it.  
  
“You weren’t there, Brienne?” Loras asked, smiling. “Funny, I didn’t notice.”  
  
Brienne was pretty sure Loras was insulting her, though she couldn’t imagine why. Maybe Renly had been trying to set him up with her and he was annoyed by it?  
  
Jaime also noticed Loras’ insult and wondered what his deal was. _What was the point of insulting a girl like Brienne?_ Jaime thought. She was maybe a little annoying, but seemed to be a basically good person.  
  
“Well, _I_ noticed, Brienne,” Asha said, elbowing Loras. “You’re one of the more interesting girls at this camp. Next time come with us!” she said.  
  
“Sure,” Brienne said quietly.  
  
“And you, Lannister? Where did you hide yourself last night?” Loras said.  
  
“I checked in early too,” Jaime said.  
  
“Hmmmm… aren’t your cabins right next to each other?” Asha asked. “You didn’t go to bed early with _each other_ , did you?” Asha laughed.  
  
Brienne blushed a deep red. “No!” she said.  
  
“Sorry Brienne, just a joke. Jaime here turns down all the girls, anyway.”  
  
“Sorry to disappoint you, Asha," Jaime said. "Just spent a quiet night with a Martin R. George novel.”  
  
Brienne almost snorted, but she stopped herself.  
  
“Hmmmm…” Asha said. “Pity. You two would make a cute couple.”  
  
Jaime looked at Brienne out of the corner of his eye. The Lady Rowena memory made sense now. Brienne was very similar - just as tall and muscular as the warrior maid, the only difference being that she had short blond hair and freckles instead of long red hair and scars. Her eyes were the same blue, though. Her legs the same long perfection. _Shit_ he thought, _she is very attractive in that lady warrior type of way. And she clearly can't stand me._ Normally he might have indulged in a little more small talk, but Brienne seemed like the type who liked order, so Jaime decided to just start the meeting.  
  
“Thanks for the free matchmaking, Asha,” he said. “But we better get down to business so we can all enjoy our free period this afternoon.”  
  
With that Jaime began handing out their rosters, schedules and the binders containing the rules and regulations for their areas of specialty. Both Asha and Loras seemed completely satisfied with their duties and began talking animatedly about their plans for new excursions and special contests this year. Jaime signed off on canoe races and archery contests, a “pirate ship” party on the sailboats and a horseback riding overnight trip near the end of the summer. He talked about his own plans for a fencing tournament and a long-distance swim as well as lifeguard training for some of the older campers so they could work as swim counselors next year.  
  
Brienne, however, was not happy with her duties, and, since she'd just found out about them, had no special plans to offer. She’d clearly been given all the sports that nobody else wanted, including her. Team sports had never been her favorite, mostly because kids at school had always picked her last for teams, not because she wasn’t good, but because she didn’t fit in. Softball, volleyball and flag football were all clouded by bad memories of being taunted and excluded. Swimming and fencing, on the other hand, Jaime’s areas, were also her areas. One of her scholarships to the Citadel was a fencing scholarship, after all. It would be nice to have at least one job at camp that evoked happy memories. She waited until the 10-minute break, then cornered Jaime when the others had left.  
  
“Excuse me, Jaime, but why is this my schedule?”  
  
“What do you mean?” Jaime asked. His headache was throbbing anew.  
  
“I don’t have any particular talents in team sports, but I _am_ very skilled in swimming and fencing. I thought that’s why I was hired. Why not assign me one of those and we can share the team sports?”  
  
“Look, it’s your first year here. You’re lucky to even _be_ a sports counselor, let alone get to choose your specialty,” Jaime said. Maybe he was pushing this luck. She did have dirt on him, and plenty of people would use that to get what they wanted. Then again, he wasn't going to give up everything that made his life here bearable.  
  
“It may be my first year, but it’s a waste to put me on badminton and flag football with the skills I have. I’ve never even _played_ badminton, but I’m the best swimmer and fencer on Tarth,” she said.  
  
“And you think I don’t have any abilities?” Jaime asked, frowning.  
  
“Not after that display I saw last night,” Brienne said.  
  
“I was drunk,” Jaime said, crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
“And what kind of responsible swim counselor goes swimming when he’s drunk? You could have actually _died_.”  
  
“It seems to me that I was happily sleeping it off until someone knocked me off the raft!”  
  
“And you don’t think you might have died or gotten hypothermia from exposure anyway? Even in summer that can happen if you’re wet and the wind is blowing or the temperature is low enough. You’re lucky I found you!”  
  
He had to hand it to her, she knew her wilderness safety, but she was also being incredibly obnoxious. It’s not like he would drink when the campers were around. _Although, how is she supposed to know that_ , he thought. All she probably knew about him was gossip from the other counselors, and at this point, none of that gossip could be any good.  
  
Jaime would never even have entertained the idea of reassigning a counselor who hadn’t plucked him out of the water or heard him talk about his sister, but since Brienne had done both, he decided to give her a chance. A very _slim_ chance.  
  
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll challenge you for it. We’ll have a fencing bout. If you can beat me, you can choose swimming or fencing and take it over for the summer, and I’ll take over two of your team sports.”  
  
Brienne was surprised, but readily agreed. “Fine,” she said. _He has no idea what he's getting into_ , she thought. No one ever assumed a girl would beat them, and he didn’t seem to be in peak condition today.  
  
“Asha or Loras can judge when they come back," he said, walking over to the fencing supplies.  
  
Jaime and Brienne put on jackets and gloves, picked out masks and foils, and waited for Asha and Loras to return.  
  
“By the way,” Jaime said. “How did you know which cabin to take me to last night?”  
  
“People talk about you,” Brienne said. “They told me you were in the cabin next door.”  
  
“Ahhhh…” Jaime said. “And are _you_ the kind of person that talks about other people?” He searched her face for understanding.  
  
“No,” Brienne said. The look she gave him combined disgust and pity. _Yeah, she knows everything_ , he thought.  
  
“I don’t talk about people unless it’s my business,” she continued. “It _will_ be my business to talk to Catelyn Stark if I ever see you drinking again, though. For the camper’s safety, and for your own.”  
  
Jaime nodded. _Fair enough_ , he thought. Half the counselors at the camp drank at least once a week, of course, and plenty of them swam in that condition, but it would be really stupid for him to drink anymore if he was going to end up talking about Cersei. He was just lucky he’d somehow talked to the right person.  
  
Asha and Loras returned to find Jaime and Brienne practicing advances and parries on opposite sides of the room.  
  
“What’s all this?” Loras asked. “If we’re having playtime, I could be doing something else right now. I thought we had to go through the safety binders.”  
  
“Brienne here has challenged me to a bout for the right to counsel swimming or fencing, and I took her up on it.”  
  
“Actually he challenged me,” Brienne said quietly. “I just thought it would be fair.”  
  
“This should be interesting,” Asha said. “You know he’s been the best fencer at camp since he was eight, right?” she asked. “But then again, you look like you could be pretty competent."  
  
“We’ll need one of you to judge,” Jaime said. “Loras?” Loras was generally considered the second best fencer at camp.  
  
“Whatever will get us out of here the fastest. Fight to three hits okay?” he asked.  
  
“Sure,” Jaime said, confident that he could score three hits within a minute.  
  
“Alright,” Loras sighed. “Hey, Asha, help me get this table out of the way!”  
  
After a space was cleared, Jaime and Brienne stood ready for their bout, the morning sun painting bright patterns on the wood floor. They touched their foils to their chins in brief salutes, then donned their masks.  
  
Brienne felt the adrenaline running through her. She rarely had a chance to fight someone truly skilled on Tarth. Renly was competent but not great. She’d let him win a few times for the sake of his ego. She didn’t care so much about Jaime’s ego. In fact, after that display last night, calling her a man, calling her “Brian”, then trying to tumble her into his bed, despite obviously not being attracted to her, he deserved to be taken down a peg or two.  
  
“En garde,” Loras called out. Brienne got into her stance.  
  
“Ready!” he called out again. She looked across at Jaime. She would let him make the first move when the moment came.  
  
“Fence!” And it was on. It appeared Jaime was not ready to attack first either. The very tips of their foils touched as they tried to knock each other’s weapons out of the way.  
  
“Come on, kids, don’t be shy!” called Asha. “No more of this foreplay! Have at each other!”  
  
Jaime grinned at Asha and straightened his arm into attack position. Even with this warning, when the hit came it was lightning fast. Brienne just barely retreated out of range. Before she could entirely recover, Jaime was in attack position again and his foil made contact just at the bottom of her jacket. Loras called for a halt and recorded the hit.  
  
Beginning again, Jaime came in with a strong attack, but Brienne retreated then attacked back. Their foils touched each other’s chests seemingly simultaneously. Loras called for a halt and consulted with Asha. “Sorry Brienne,” Asha said. “We think he had right of way.” They rewarded Jaime another hit.  
  
Brienne growled low in her throat. She could not let Jaime win. He actually seemed to be smirking at her under his mask.  
  
They began again. This time Brienne didn’t hesitate. She went into attack position, fought through his parry, and touched him in the middle of his jacket within seconds. The smirk disappeared. “Halt!” Loras called again and rewarded Brienne a hit.  
  
Jaime was flustered. He didn’t expect her to get in even one hit, if he was honest. It’s not that he didn’t believe women could fight. Sure they could. It was just that what Asha had said was right. Whatever else people might say about him, he was known as the best fencer at camp, and one of the best in Westeros, period.  
  
Jaime needed to end this bout fast, before she could get in another hit. He advanced again, just as fast as before, but this time, Brienne managed to retreat out of his reach. She was also quick to respond. Rather than letting him continue his attack, Brienne extended her own arm, then stamped the floor loudly with her foot. Jaime’s head throbbed from the noise, and she was able to touch the top of his jacket before he recovered.  
  
“Halt!” Loras called. “Another hit for Brienne!” Loras seemed just as surprised as Jaime, and Asha was cheering “Yes, get it!” she yelled. “Win one for the women!”  
  
Jaime felt a bit queasy, the breakfast he’d eaten threatening to come up. _No time for that_ , Jaime thought. There was no way he could lose. Fencing was about all he had left to be proud of. He mustered all the energy he had left. _Get it together, Lannister_ , he thought. He moved forward as if preparing a normal advance, but then jumped and slid into a lunge which caught the wench off-guard. Before he knew it, Loras was calling “Halt!” again and awarding him the final point.  
  
He took off his mask and smiled at Brienne. It _had_ really been a good fight. Now that he’d won, he felt nothing but goodwill towards the girl, who, after all, was keeping his secret and had rescued him from a lake.  
  
“Well fought, Brienne,” he said, reaching out his hand. She took off her mask and shook his hand limply before pulling back. She was glowering at him again.  
  
“Hey, there are no hard feelings are there?” Jaime asked.  
  
“No,” Brienne said. “You won fairly.”  
  
“You really are extraordinary though,” Jaime said.  
  
“Hmmph,” Brienne said. “Well, I’m not very extraordinary at any of the sports I’m in charge of, unfortunately.”  
  
“All you need to do is follow the rules of the games. You’ll be fine. It’s easy,” Jaime said.  
  
“I didn’t come here for something easy,” Brienne said.  
  
“Hey, can we finish this meeting now?” Loras asked impatiently.  
  
“We have these binders,” Asha said. “Maybe we could just read them in our cabins tonight? I mean, I _do_ practically live on boats back in Pyke.”  
  
Jaime knew he should go over the binders with them, but found himself wanting to continue his conversation with Brienne instead. Not to mention, it’d be nice to get in an afternoon nap. “Sure,” Jaime said. “Fine. But really _do_ read them.”  
  
“Good,” Loras said. “Well, I’ll be going then.” Loras bolted out of the cabin.  
  
“See you around, Lannister,” Asha said. “You too, Brienne! Good fight!"  
  
Brienne nodded and tried to put away the fencing equipment as quickly as possible.  
  
“Why _did_ you come here?” Jaime asked.  
  
“Excuse me?” Brienne asked.  
  
“Well you said you didn’t come here for things to be easy, so why did you come?” Jaime asked.  
  
Brienne had no desire to talk to him about Renly, and she didn’t feel like reciting some more appropriate answer about fresh air and the joys of helping children either. She had a feeling he’d see right through it anyway.  
  
“Why did _you_ come back here?” she asked instead.  
  
“Because it pissed off my father,” Jaime said. “And because I’ve always come here. I’m not going to be chased away by Aerys Targaryen.”  
  
“Chased away by Aerys Targaryen?” Brienne said incredulously. “I heard it was the other way around.”  
  
Jaime wanted to defend himself, but couldn’t. Normally he wouldn’t care. What did it matter if this tall dour girl liked him or not? But it did, for some reason. Still, there were some things that weren’t his to talk about.  
  
“Well, you don’t have the whole story,” he grumbled.  
  
“I’m sure it’s a fascinating story, but I’m going to go to the theater now and try to meet my friend for lunch.” Brienne picked up her binders and walked out the door.  
  
“And who’s that?” Jaime asked. He hurried to shut off the lights and latch the door behind them.  
  
“Renly Baratheon,” she said, stopping at a twining of paths to try to remember the correct way to the theater.  
  
“It's this way,” Jaime said, nudging her towards the right.  
  
“Hmmph,” she mumbled, but started walking quickly down the path he'd indicated.  
  
“Renly,” Jaime said. Jaime had no real opinion about Renly. All he knew was that Cersei had spent a lot of time complaining about him last summer. But Cersei complained about nearly everyone, so that was nothing special.  
  
“How do you know him?” he asked.  
  
“We’re best friends,” Brienne said. Immediately she wanted to kick herself for using such a childish expression.  
  
“That’s nice,” Jaime said. “My brother is my best friend, but he’s in Casterly Rock this summer. Doing my internship.”  
  
“Your internship?” Brienne asked. “If it’s yours, why is he doing it?” Why did she have to keep asking him questions? It’s not like she wanted to be friends with him. Mostly she wanted him to go away so she could be on her own when she saw Renly.  
  
“Well, he’s doing it because unlike me he wants to work in the family business. I’m going to the Citadel next year.”  
  
“The Citadel?” Brienne froze. Should she tell him she was going there too? She supposed it was bound to come up eventually. “I’m going there too,” she mumbled.  
  
“Really?” Jaime asked. “Interesting. Maybe we can get an apartment together!”  
  
“Excuse me?” Brienne said. She started walking again, more quickly this time.  
  
“Relax, wench, it’s just a joke,” Jaime said, walking briskly beside her. Was it? He wouldn’t mind. He didn’t know anyone else who was going to Oldtown after all.  
  
“ _Wench_?” Brienne said. “Is that that Lady Whatshername thing again from last night?” Ugh. Now she’d done it. She had planned on just never mentioning last night again.  
  
“Lady Rowena, that’s right,” he said. “Do you know her?”  
  
“Obviously not, I just called her Lady Whatshername. You said I looked like her.”  
  
“Well, yes,” Jaime said. He didn’t know it if was a good idea to say that or not, though. Lady Rowena was supposed to be ugly in the books, and though he found the actress on the show to be very attractive, this was not an opinion shared by everyone.  
  
“You have her eyes,” he said. Lady Rowena’s eyes were the one feature which the books and the show agreed were beautiful. “Since you like fencing you might like it. It’s a fantasy show and book series,” he added. “I have the first three books with me.”  
  
“Not interested,” Brienne said.  
  
“You don’t like to read?” he asked.  
  
“No, I just have my own reading materials.”  
  
Brienne wasn’t about to admit to the pile of romances she had in her luggage. She didn’t even let _Renly_ see those. She had packed some classic literature, too, to read in public. Brienne finally spotted the big barnlike theater at the end of the path.  
  
“Well, we’re at the theater now,” Brienne said. “You can go,” she added.  
  
“I think I’ll come in just for a second,” he said. “Haven’t seen it since last year.” Jaime was curious about her relationship with Renly. He wondered if they were dating. Plus, he was bored.  
  
They entered the audience and stage area of the theater to find it totally empty. “Meeting must be over,” Jaime said. But Brienne could hear faint voices coming from the back. She felt trepidation. _Maybe Renly’s back there with Margaery_ , she thought. Jaime trailed after her towards the backstage area.  
  
The stage door was open. Two people were standing close together, but Brienne’s eyes hadn’t quite adjusted to the darkness yet. When she walked just inside the door, however, her vision improved. Renly was there, and he was kissing someone. But it wasn’t Margaery. It was Loras. Brienne gasped and dropped her binders.  
  
“Sorry to disturb you!” Jaime said. He picked up Brienne’s binders and tried to coax her out of the doorway.  
  
Brienne, however, felt momentarily stuck in place. Loras and Renly had broken their kiss, and both of them had turned to look at the newcomers. Loras grinned at Brienne, but Renly looked afraid.  
  
“I was going to meet you for lunch,” Brienne said feebly. She felt ridiculous. So all of her feelings had been for nothing, and she’d been too stupid to see it. He’d never wanted Margaery, he’d never wanted to set her up with Loras. He’d probably been with Loras last summer. And he’d never told her about any of it. She doubted he even remembered the hike he’d mentioned taking with her after lunch, not that it mattered now.  
  
“Brienne, I-” Renly started to speak but couldn’t seem to find any words.  
  
Loras was still grinning at her, as if in triumph. Brienne felt tears begin to form in her eyes. She couldn’t let them see her cry. She left Jaime holding her binders and ran out of the theater.  
  
“Brienne!” Renly shouted. He stepped away from Loras, but didn’t make any real attempt to run after her. Jaime ran after her instead. 

It took some doing, but Jaime managed to keep up with Brienne and finally caught up with her behind the archery range, just near the edge of the forest. Lucky for him she hadn’t tried plunging into the woods, because he was almost out of breath and about ready to vomit again. He found Brienne blotchy and red-faced sitting under a tree and sat down next to her.

“Finally, wench, you do run fast,” Jaime said lightly. Somehow cheering her up seemed to be the most important thing he could do right now.  
  
“Go away!” Brienne said, wiping tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.  
  
“You might at least thank me for bringing you your binders,” he said, laying them at her feet. “After all, safety first and everything.”  
  
“Thank you,” she said tightly.  
  
“Why was that so upsetting to you?” Jaime asked. “Are you... religious?” he asked.  
  
“No,” she said. “I don’t mind people being gay."  
  
“Then what?” he asked.  
  
Brienne wrapped her arms around her legs and sat silent as a stone.  
  
“You had a crush on him?” Jaime asked. Brienne’s head shot up quickly and Jaime knew he’d guessed right.  
  
“I did not,” she said.  
  
“Of course you did. Best friend, spent a lot of time together. He’s _somewhat_ attractive, I guess. Of course you liked him. But I guess you’re not his type. He doesn’t know what he’s missing. You're more man than Loras. You could easily out-fight him.”  
  
“Shut up,” Brienne said.  
  
“Why? I don’t have a problem with Renly. Or Loras. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you, either. We don’t get to choose who we love.”  
  
“Hmmph,” Brienne said. “And I guess that’s your excuse for your… for your sister.” Brienne wondered if she’d gone too far, bringing that up.  
  
“Yes, I fucked my sister,” Jaime said in a low voice. “I’m a monster. And you, for some reason, are the keeper of my secret.”  
  
“Not so much a secret,” Brienne said. “Loras was telling everyone about the two of you.”  
  
Jaime raised his eyebrows in surprise. _Things to deal with later_ he thought. “Well, good for Loras. You’re the only one I’ve _willingly_ told my secret to, then,” Jaime said.  
  
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather be alone right now,” Brienne said, feeling another burst of tears coming on.  
  
“No you wouldn’t,” Jaime said. “You should have company. But I’ll leave you alone if you insist. Wouldn’t you like to get lunch first, though? A monster like me is good at keeping the other monsters away.”  
  
“I’ll eat on my own, thanks,” Brienne said. But she wasn’t planning on eating at all. She couldn’t face the dining hall right now. The longer she thought about all the conversations she’d heard since she’d come to camp, the more she realized that all of Renly’s friends knew about him and Loras. All of them knew except her. She’d thought he was her best friend, but she hadn’t even really known him. And everyone must think that’s just pathetic.  
  
“Very well, then, wench,” Jaime said. “But if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” Jaime patted her lightly on the knee before trudging over to the dining hall alone for another solo meal. It was going to be a long summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I researched fencing for this chapter, and I'm sure my research is not nearly done. If any fencers read this chapter and have particular advice or criticisms to offer, I'd welcome your comments. I admit that I'm basing this on glossaries and instructional videos, so far. 
> 
> If you're a Loras fan, I promise that eventually Loras will become more sympathetic in the story. He's got his reasons for acting the way he does towards Brienne. 
> 
> Campers are going to be arriving en masse in the next chapter, and I'm really looking forward to that. I may be adding some camper couples to the shipper tags (as well as perhaps some more counselor couples) as the summer goes on.


	8. The Night Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Very sorry about my long absence. I was sick or depressed for most of the last few months, and writing got put to the side. But I should be posting more regularly again the rest of the summer, fingers crossed, on both this and "The Last Feast." The other good news is that I've fully outlined this story and I do know where it's going and the eventual destination. (Though I'm certainly open to my characters surprising me along the way!) Hope you enjoy the latest installment!

Brienne waited for Jaime to leave the archery range before she let her tears flow freely again. She cried for her disappointment in love, but also for how lonely it felt to realize that the one friend she’d always counted on hadn’t trusted her with his secrets, and had seemingly moved on without her. Hugging her knees to her chest, she longed for her father, Tarth, and her childhood room.  
  
When Brienne was all cried out, she sat for a while, looking out at the meadow dotted with wildflowers that served as the archery range. The trees rustled with a soft breeze, birds chittered happily, and after a while Brienne spotted a doe in the distance, grazing with its fawn. The peace and stillness washed over her, and she shook off some of her sadness.  
  
So she wouldn’t find love this summer. She could still be a good counselor, take care of the children in her care, enjoy nature. Maybe she could even meet some new friends. Renly’s group weren’t the only people at camp, after all. As to Renly, she couldn’t think about him yet.  
  
After soaking in a little more of the meadow’s peace, Brienne cautiously walked back to her cabin, hoping to avoid Renly and his friends for the time being. When she arrived, she found two notes taped to her door. She quickly tore them off, hurried into the cabin, locked herself in with the shades drawn, and sat down to read.  
  
The first note was on pink stationery, and as she began to read it the peace she had felt in the meadow started leaking out of her. 

_Dearest Brienne,  
  
Please don’t be mad at dear Renly! He is so sorry that he upset you! We tried to find you for lunch and for our boat trip this afternoon, but you weren’t here. We’ll be gone until 8 tonight, but after that Renly really wants to meet you in the dining hall to to talk and explain everything. Please be kind and meet him. He really cares about you! And we all want to be your friend too!  
  
Love,  
Margaery_

Brienne stared at the letter for a few seconds before crumpling it up and pitching it into the garbage. _How irritating_ , she thought. _Since when was she “dearest Brienne”? And didn’t Margaery realize that the letter just rubbed in how Margaery had known Renly’s secrets when she hadn’t?_ Imagining them all on a boat only made things worse. Were they talking about her right now, pitying her? The worst thing, though, was realizing that she wasn’t even that angry at Margaery; she was angry at Renly. _Couldn’t he even write his own letter?_  
  
_Wait, though_ , Brienne thought, _maybe he had_. Suddenly she remembered the second, smaller note and eagerly unfolded it. The unruly scrawl alone, though, told her it couldn’t have come from Renly’s elegant hand.

_Wench -  
  
I thought you’d be hungry. Look on your bedside table. You’re welcome.  
  
Jaime_

Brienne looked up as if expecting to find Jaime in the room, but of course he wasn’t. She wandered over to the anteroom with her bed and found, just as he’d promised, food on the table - a falafel wrap, a lemonade, and even a pudding cup. Her stomach growled, and she realized how much the morning had tired her out and left her hungry. Without pausing to think, she sat down and dug into the lunch.  
  
After lunch, fortified and resolved, she wrote her own note.

_Dear Renly,  
  
Please do not talk to me until I talk to you, and please ask your friends not to talk to me either unless it’s regarding camp business. I need time to think.  
  
Brienne_

Note in hand, she walked over to knock on Jaime’s door. After a short wait, he emerged, rumpled and bleary-eyed from sleep.  
  
“Ahhh… wench,” he greeted her.  
  
Brienne grimaced at the name, but decided to let it go. “Thank you for lunch,” she said, politely.  
  
“You’re welcome,” he said.  
  
“You already said that,” she said. He looked at her questioningly. “In your note,” she clarified.  
  
“Ahhhhh… yeah…” he smiled weakly. “Sorry, I’m a bit tired, wench, dulls my wits. I’d ask you to come in, but it's a bit of a mess.”  
  
“And why would I want to come in?” Brienne asked, sneaking a glance into his room which was indeed quite messy.  
  
Jaime sighed. “Fine, wench, have it your way. I’m going back to bed now,” he said.  
  
“Wait,” Brienne said. “Do you have any tape?”  
  
“Yeah,” Jaime said. “Answering the other note on your door?” he asked, heading into the cabin and leaving the door ajar.  
  
“You didn’t _read_ it?” Brienne asked, alarmed.  
  
“Of course I didn’t read it, wench,” Jaime said, dumping out his backpack then rifling through its contents. “I was surprised that Renly would write on pink paper, though. A bold choice”  
  
“It wasn’t Renly. It was from Margaery," Brienne said, following Jaime into the room after all.  
  
Jaime looked up from the items on the floor and seemed to come fully awake. “You mean he couldn’t even write his own damned letter? Really, wench, you could do a lot better.”  
  
“Whatever,” Brienne said, kicking herself for revealing more personal details. “Just please I need some tape.”  
  
Jaime looked back at the mess on the floor, then looked under a bed as if struck by sudden inspiration. “Aha!” he said. He got up and handed Brienne the roll of tape, smiling. "Here, you can return this to me at dinner tonight.”  
  
Instead, Brienne ripped off the few pieces of tape she needed and affixed them to her note, then handed the roll back.  
  
“I’m grateful for the lunch, Jaime, and your concern. But… you said yourself that people avoid you, that you don’t have friends. And I barely know you. I’m new here, and, well, maybe I should try to meet some more new people.”  
  
Jaime kept his features disciplined, but Brienne thought she saw his face fall a little. It was very uncomfortable for Brienne to reject Jaime's friendly overtures, and she nearly took it back until she remembered Director Stark’s attitude towards him. After all, she really _didn’t_ know him very well, and she wanted to make a good impression at camp. It couldn’t hurt to be cautious.  
  
“We can be co-workers for now,” Brienne said, instead, slowly backing out of his room. Jaime furrowed his brow. “Friendly acquaintances?” she added.  
  
“Friendly acquaintances,” Jaime said, shaking his head, then let out a laugh tinged with bitterness. “Fine, wench, friendly acquaintances. Be sure to let me know if I ever get upgraded. Good luck with your search for suitable companions!” he said. Without waiting for her reply, Jaime closed the door and went back to bed.

After taping her note to Renly’s door, Brienne spent the rest of the afternoon poring over the sports binders and planning out her first week’s sessions. When dinnertime neared she washed up and changed into fresh clothes. She walked towards the dining hall with sweaty palms and a racing heart. It had been a long time since she’d had to make a new friend, and she worried she might not find a welcoming table.  
  
Instead, she was relieved to find an obvious place to sit right off the bat. She’d met Sam, Gilly, Osha and Tormund at the mixer, and they were all sitting together at a crowded corner table. She didn’t even have to ask to join, since Gilly spotted her and called her over.  
  
“Come to sit with the Northerners, have you?” Tormund asked, smiling brightly. “I like a woman with good taste,” he said, patting the empty spot next to him.  
  
Brienne blushed but sat down.  
  
“Not all of us are Northerners, though” Sam said. “I grew up in the Reach.”  
  
“Then he came to the Citadel and met me,” Gilly said. Gilly looked into Sam’s eyes adoringly and he wrapped his arm around her happily.  
  
“You go to the Citadel?” Brienne asked. “That’s where I’m going in the fall.”  
  
“Wonderful,” Gilly said. “We can all hang out together next year!”  
  
Brienne’s heart warmed, and she was glad that she’d decided to strike out on her own. Already she felt more at home with these Northerners than with Renly and his friends, and it made her heart ache a little. She almost felt like she was betraying him. _Except that he betrayed you_ , Brienne thought.  
  
The Northern table filled up quickly, and Brienne was introduced to so many people she started losing track of their names. Osha she’d met, but her friend Ygritte turned out to be the other new female counselor this year. Then there was Mance, the camp choir director; Dacey Mormont, who worked directly under the Starks on camp scheduling and logistics; and Edd Tollett, a gloomy young man who was in charge of camp supplies and driving vans into town. Jon Snow, the Starks’ nephew was also there, but not his cousin, Robb. When Brienne asked why Robb didn’t sit with the other northerners, Osha explained that he was dating a southroner and pointed to a nearby table where Robb and Theon Greyjoy were sitting with a number of pretty, petite, giggling girls.  
  
Tormund followed Brienne’s gaze and put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. “Some guys like that type of girl,” Tormund said. “Not me. Give me a strong, tall woman any day.” Brienne turned to look at him. He smiled widely and stared at her intently as he eagerly bit into a chicken wing. Brienne couldn't help thinking the bite was meant to be suggestive and found herself at a loss for words.  
  
Thankfully, she was spared having to respond by the arrival of a slightly older tall red-haired woman who sat down on Brienne’s left. “Brienne Tarth,” she said in a confident tone.  
  
“Have we met?” Brienne asked, confusedly.  
  
“No, but I saw you in the Night Fire,” she said.  
  
“The Night Fire is the camp newsletter,” Sam explained. “I work on it. Your picture was in the first issue in the article on new counselors.”  
  
“Oh,” Brienne said.  
  
“I’m Melisandre,” the red-haired lady said.  
  
“Nice to meet you,” Brienne said, shaking her hand.  
  
“Will you be going to the Night Fire tonight?” Melisandre asked.  
  
“What do you mean? I thought it was a newsletter.”  
  
“Aye, it’s a paper, and it’s also a bonfire. A Northern tradition,” Tormund said, talking with his mouth slightly full.  
  
“Not a Northern tradition, actually. It comes from the followers of the Lord of Light,” Melisandre said.  
  
“Mel majored in Comparative Religions in Essos,” Sam explained.  
  
“Yes, and the night fires are sacred there,” Melisandre said.  
  
“Well, whatever it is, it’s a Northern tradition here,” Tormund said. “You should come,” he added, nudging Brienne.  
  
“Yes! Come with us!” Gilly said. “It’s always fun and we make s’mores.”  
  
“The followers of the Lord of Light used the night fires to see visions and to perform blood magic, sacrificing people with King’s blood to the flames to achieve their goals,” Melisandre added.  
  
“Yes, that’s very interesting, Mel, but, erm, let’s not scare Brienne,” Sam said.  
  
“That’s alright,” Brienne said. “I don’t have any King’s blood.”  
  
Brienne’s new friends laughed, and she felt proud of herself. She rarely made jokes, but here she was talking easily with people who welcomed her for who she was. She smiled. The disappointments of the morning felt far away.  
  
Just then, Brienne felt as if someone was watching her, and looked around cautiously, worried that Renly had come back early after all. Instead, she caught the gaze of Jaime Lannister, sitting across the hall with the same few girls who’d been following him everywhere, plus another male counselor. When he saw Brienne looking, he raised his eyebrows amusedly at her, as if they shared some kind of inside joke. Brienne felt flustered, unsure of how to respond, so she just looked away. She supposed it didn't matter, anyway. Jaime looked occupied enough. Before she knew it, dinner was over, and she was swept out of the hall in a crowd of her new friends.

 

The night fire was located on a hill, about 10 minutes walk from the main camp. The firepit was very large, and protected from brush and trees by large stones. Everyone worked together to gather fuel for the fire, and soon it was roaring.  
  
“For the night is dark and full of terrors,” Melisandre intoned to no one in particular.  
  
“Do other counselors usually come here?” Brienne asked Osha, still slightly worried that Renly would turn up.  
  
“Not really,” Osha said. “Southroners usually hang out by the boathouse or closer to the lake. They can be a bit posh. Even Robb Stark sometimes acts like he’s better than us now that he's dating those southroners.”  
  
“You’ve got to follow your woman,” Sam said, looking fondly at Gilly.  
  
As if on cue, Tormund emerged from the woods and began making a beeline for Brienne. Brienne was just starting to get nervous when Melisandre grabbed her by the elbow.  
  
“Come,” she said. “I’m going to tell you your future.”  
  
“What?” Brienne asked.  
  
“Oh, let her, Brienne!” Gilly said. “She did mine and it was all true!”  
  
“Mine was rubbish,” Osha said. “But still amusing. Oy, Ygritte!” Osha called to her friend, who came over to join too. It looked like Tormund had been at least temporarily put off his pursuit by formation of a pack of girls, and he settled in by the fire.  
  
Melisandre led the girls over to a picnic table, then took a pack of tarot cards out of her shoulder bag and illuminated what the fire couldn’t reach with her flashlight. She asked Brienne to put her hands on the cards and think over a question. Brienne didn’t really have a question, but her mind wandered over the events of the last 24 hours or so. Renly, Jaime, Tormund, where she was supposed to fit in at this camp. Her plans dashed and new possibilities emerging.  
  
Melisandre smiled in satisfaction and said, “That should be enough. Now let’s find out what’s in store for you.”  
  
She arranged the cards face down in an elaborate pattern, then turned them over. As she did, she smiled and seemed to be intrigued by the results. Despite not believing in mystical things, Brienne couldn’t help but feel curious.  
  
“You’ve asked about love,” Melisandre started.  
  
“But I didn’t ask about anything,” Brienne protested weakly.  
  
“The cards know,” Melisandre said. “You may not have consciously asked about love, but every card that isn’t a major arcana card is a cup, and cups relate to love and relationships. Plus, here, in the middle, the card that represents your question is the Lovers,”  
  
“She's got you there,” Osha said, laughing.  
  
“Actually, the Lovers card doesn't always represent actual lovers, but with all these other cards,” Melisandre smiled up at Brienne, “I’d say it does.”  
  
Brienne blushed deeper.  
  
“Don’t worry, Brienne, that’s what most of us ask about,” Gilly said. “What’s next, Mel?”  
  
“The Moon,” Melisandre said. “An interesting card. It can represent intuition, but here it’s crossing you; it’s an obstacle. There’s some type of misunderstanding or secret getting in your way.”  
  
_Renly_ , Brienne thought. _Nothing but secrets there. But it's more than a secret getting in the way of love with Renly. It’s who he is. Love with Renly just isn't possible._  
  
Melisandre was still looking at Brienne and added. “You’ll want to be careful about making assumptions, I think,” she said. “There may be more going on than meets the eye.”  
  
Brienne nodded politely, but she was already waiting to find out what the other cards would have to say.  
  
“Now the foundation, interesting. The six of cups. I would say this represents an old friend, someone you’ve known since you were children.”  
  
Brienne really blushed now. She didn’t think any of them knew about her friendship with Renly, but what if they found out?  
  
“Yes, there is a boy... at home,” Brienne lied.  
  
“Oh, that’s tough,” Ygritte said. “Will you see him when you get back?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Brienne said, shrugging. Melisandre was looking at her with a gaze that seemed to see right through her, but she only smiled and kept on with the reading.  
  
“Did you have some disappointment with that boy?” Melisandre asked. “Because in your immediate past there’s the five of cups. Typically that indicates disappointment in love. A break-up.”  
  
Brienne nodded, even though it wasn’t strictly true.  
  
“Sorry Brienne,” Gilly said, “But it’ll be okay. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”  
  
“Now,” Melisandre said, “some good news. The Sun. Happy times are likely in your future.”  
  
“Great!” Gilly said. “That was in my spread before I met Sam,” Gilly said, patting Brienne’s hand. It was hard for Brienne to share Gilly’s excitement. What was the likelihood that any of this tarot stuff was going to pan out, regardless of how accurate the reading had been about her past?  
  
“Who’s that guy?” Osha asked pointing to the Prince of Cups, in the next position. “Is that her new lover?”  
  
“In this case, likely so,” said Melisandre. “In some tarot decks he’s called the knight of cups, but here he’s the prince. So here, you see, the prince that was promised by the Sun card arrives.”  
  
“What’s he like?” asked Ygritte. “I mean, are the different princes different?” she asked.  
  
“Yes,” Melisandre said. “The prince of cups is more romantic and gentler than the other princes. He can also be a bit self-involved, but he’s usually creative, exciting, and sympathetic.”  
  
“That sounds nice,” said Gilly.  
  
Brienne furrowed her brow. It sounded like Renly, except for the part about being full of himself. But it couldn’t be Renly. She looked furtively over to the Night Fire and saw Tormund, who was laughing raucously with a few other guys. Romantic? Brienne wasn’t so sure about that.  
  
“Are you ready to go on, Brienne?” Melisandre asked. Brienne abruptly turned her gaze from Tormund.  
  
“The next card represents how you feel about your situation - the hermit. You must feel very lonely at the moment, Brienne,” Melisandre said.  
  
Brienne gulped and nodded, and momentarily felt in danger of crying. It hit too close to home. Gilly noticed her distress and looped an arm through hers. “No need to be lonely anymore with us here,” Gilly said.  
  
“That’s right,” Osha said, encouragingly. “Better to be with us women, anyway. Those lot would be lost without us,” she said, looking over at the boys by the fire.  
  
Brienne smiled as best she could. “What about the next one?” she said, embarrassed to be the focus of so much attention.  
  
“Now this is how others see you,” Melisandre said. “Strength. That seems very accurate. Not only do you have obvious physical strength, but you have a calm about you. See how the woman in this card is calming a lion? Whatever relationship you enter into, you will be respected. You will be a strong, calming force.”  
  
Gilly patted Brienne’s arm encouragingly.  
  
“Your hopes and fears, Ten of Cups. You hope for happy partnership, for love," Melisandre continued.  
  
Brienne didn’t bother to deny it anymore, since no one seemed to care. She was not used to being with girls talking about boyfriends or relationships, but she knew from books and movies that this was apparently what happened at sleepovers, something she had only ever experienced with Renly. And she and Renly had, notably, never talked about love.  
  
“Finally, one of the most auspicious cards you can have in a reading - The Star. Yes,” Melisandre said, sounding quite satisfied, “I believe you will find the love you’re looking for, and soon, too. This is a strong reading. A lot of major arcana cards and a consistent theme.”  
  
Melisandre and the others beamed at Brienne expectantly, but all Brienne could do was say “Thank you” and flash what she hoped was a nice smile. It had been a nice diversion, but she didn’t really believe in the cards' message. And how could she actually have the outcome she wanted? Renly was still in her heart whether she wanted him to be or not. Still, it was nice that Mel and Gilly and Osha and even Ygritte cared enough about her to take an interest in her.  
  
“I’m next then,” Ygritte said.  
  
“As long as Brienne doesn’t want to look at the cards any longer,” Melisandre said.  
  
“No, I’m okay,” Brienne said. “I think I’ll warm up by the fire a while.”  
  
“Me too,” Gilly said. “Let’s find Sam.”  
  
Brienne let Gilly lead her over to Sam and rejoined the festivities.

Around 10:30 Brienne decided it was time to head back to her cabin. It had been a fun time, for the most part, sitting around the night fire. She’d eaten more s’mores than she cared to count along with some sausages and was completely full.  
  
Mance had played traditional songs on his guitar while everyone sang along. Gilly and Sam had talked to her about the camp traditions and yearly field trips. Osha had given her interesting tips about plants to avoid and plants that could be eaten. And, of course, Tormund had paid her a lot of attention. It was flattering, although somewhat unnerving too.  
  
As soon as she’d come back from the tarot reading he had hovered around her and participated in all of her conversations. As the night wore on, he’d stood closer and closer to her, and he’d offered her his flannel for warmth at least 3 different times. By the time Brienne was ready to go, she was pretty sure he was trying to work out how to subtly put his arm around her. So when he wandered off briefly to cook another sausage, Brienne decided to head home on her own.  
  
Brienne hadn’t even passed the first bend in the trail, however, before she heard heavy footsteps behind her.  
  
“Brienne! Wait up!” Of course it was Tormund.  
  
“Oh, Tormund,” she said. “I’m just going home. It’s late.”  
  
“I’ll walk you,” he said.  
  
“There’s no need,” Brienne said.  
  
“Of course not, but I want to,” Tormund said.  
  
“Okay,” Brienne said, noncommittally.  
  
“So, where’s your cabin?” he asked.  
  
“I’m down by the docks,” she said.  
  
“Oh, pity. I’m by the woods myself. Very far from you. But I expect I can see you around anyway. What’s your day off?”  
  
“I’m scheduled for Fridays and then whichever Saturday or Sunday is free that week.”  
  
“Oh, too bad. Mondays for me. Still, there’s always lunch and evening recreation time. And it’s a long summer. Plenty of time to get to know one another.”  
  
“Yes, sure,” Brienne said, quickening her pace.  
  
The conversation continued in a similar vein as they walked down the trail to Brienne’s cabin. Tormund suggested activities and times when they might meet. Brienne agreed that those things might be fun, while trying not to sound overly encouraging.  
  
In some ways, she felt crazy for not being more excited. Tormund, after all, was the first guy that had shown real romantic interest in her, and it was flattering. He wasn’t bad-looking either. For a young guy, he looked very mature, with a nice beard and a muscular body. His face was friendly and open, and his eyes sparkled.  
  
And then, the most tempting thing was the way he kept trying to get physically closer to her. Brienne had never been kissed. She’d held hands with Renly before and thought that it had been romantic, but clearly it hadn’t been. So when she tripped slightly on a rock and Tormund used that as an excuse to hold onto her arm, she felt a little jolt. When she didn't move her arm away, he took that as an invitation, so that by the time they were rounding the corner to her cabin, Tormund had his arm around her waist. The feeling was not unpleasant, though Brienne wasn't sure if she wanted anything more. She did realize, though, that it would look to anyone else like she had already found a camp boyfriend.  
  
That’s certainly how it looked to Jaime Lannister, who was sitting on the dock with his new friend Bronn, while Ros and Amerei were splashing in the water nearby.  
  
“Well, well, wench, you work fast!” Jaime called out. Brienne's first instinct was to pull away from Tormund, but it was clearly already too late. Besides, what did she care what Jaime Lannister thought about it?  
  
“Who’s this now?” the other guy asked Jaime, pointing towards Brienne.  
  
“I’m Tormund Giantsbane and this is Brienne Tarth,” boomed Tormund, gripping Brienne closer.  
  
“Of course it’s _Brienne_ ,” Jaime said.  
  
“And how do _you_ know her?” Tormund asked.  
  
“I live next door, and she’s my sports counselor, and she rescued me from the lake," Jaime said, gesturing towards the lake as if it might provide evidence.  
  
The girls in the lake whispered to each other and giggled but quickly went back to swimming.  
  
“Well, whether you know her or not, you best not call her wench,” Tormund said.  
  
“Are you in charge of her now?” Jaime asked, standing and starting to walk over towards Tormund and Brienne.  
  
Brienne started to feel alarmed. The last thing she wanted was a fight before camp had even properly started. “No one’s in charge of me,” Brienne said to Jaime. Then she turned to Tormund and said, “Jaime's just..." But she wasn't sure how to finish the sentence.   
  
Instead, she patted Tormund's arm and extricated herself from his grip as gracefuly as she could. "Tormund, thanks for walking me home,” she said, “I’m going to bed now.” Before he could respond, she quickly began walking up the path to her cabin.  
  
“Don’t fancy a swim first, do you wench?” Jaime called after her.  
  
“No thank you,” Brienne responded, not bothering to turn around. Tormund seemed torn between starting something with Jaime and following Brienne to say a more friendly goodnight.  
  
“How about you, Tormund?” Jaime asked.  
  
“How about what?” he asked, watching as Brienne smoothly shut her cabin door.  
  
“A swim,” Jaime said.  
  
“No, thank you,” Tormund grumbled, not really paying attention. With a last glance at Brienne’s cabin, Tormund decided to forget about Jaime Lannister and wandered back up the trail.  
  
Ros and Amerei hadn't been paying any attention, but Bronn had followed the whole interaction with interest.  
  
“So, I guess I can have both of the girls, eh?” he asked. “I mean, you’re obviously already interested in that Brienne there.”  
  
“I’m not interested in her,” Jaime said. But, as he strained to get a glimpse of her shadow against the window shade of her cabin, he realized that, yeah, he kind of was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm not any kind of expert at tarot, but I have received and given readings, and I did a modicum of research to make a nice Celtic Cross reading for Brienne. As you can see, though the burn may be slow, the final outcome should be satisfying. :)

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of two longer fics I'm working on at the moment, and I anticipate it will be in the 30-50 chapter range when all is said and done. There is a plot outline and a destination. I have had some difficulties with illness lately which have kept me from posting regularly, but I am going to try to post weekly from here on in. 
> 
> This story is going to play with characters' ages at times, and I may also play with some family trees, in particular the Targaryens, but it is an AU. 
> 
> There will be a lot lot lot lot of characters from both book and show when all is said and done, but I'm only adding them to the tags once they have dialogue in the story. Jaime/Brienne is likely to be the only major ship, but I am including ship tags for ships that interact in a positive way in the story, even if it's minor.
> 
> I always appreciate feedback whether it's positive or constructive criticism. I do my best to research topics which are unfamiliar to me, but especially with things like fencing I may get facts wrong at times. Hope you enjoy the work nevertheless! I'm enjoying writing it!


End file.
